•Thicker Than Blood•

•Chapter 26•

As time went on, the families grew closer. The five of them lived under the same roof. Chris and Genevieve settled in at the house for a little while too. Chris still had to go on long business trips from time to time. Although, after the first two, he realized the toll it had taken on Genevieve. Whenever he left, she wouldn't become quiet and more introverted than normal. She'd wait by the window and wait for him to come back.

Each time he returned, she would run and leap into his arms. The relief of him coming home safe always brightened up her entire demeanor. By this time, she loved Chris more than anything. She saw him as her very own father figure. The last time he returned, she accidentally let it slip and called him dad. By that point, Chris pulled some strings and made it so she could travel with him. In the safest way of course. She would stay at the bases with security while he went out on missions.

During the six months that had passed through the incident, a year had passed since Raccoon City. Leon was twenty two, Claire was twenty, Sherry, and Genevieve were now thirteen years old. Claire and Leon were closer than ever and growing day by day. They became mom and dad to Sherry then uncle and aunt to Genevieve. Chris had become dad to Genevieve while Leon and Claire were Aunt and Uncle. Overall, they were a family now. Joint together by the bonds of time and trauma!

But things were going to change... yet again. Chris and Genevieve were out on a trip to Germany for one of Chris's missions. They were far, far away. So, Claire, Leon, and Sherry were by themselves once again. Their days went on as usual, Sherry went to school. Claire worked as a mechanic. Leon was still a cop at this point in time. Now his shift was coming up for the night.

As usual, he went into Sherry's room and tucked her in. He kissed her forehead as a goodnight and wished she had a good day at school in the morning. She told him to be careful at work and made him promise to come back. As always, he pinky swore to her that he would return home to her. Then, after his visit with Sherry, he went to say goodbye and goodnight to Claire next up.

"Alright, Claire. I got to go. I'll see you later, likely in the afternoon whenever I wake up." He said.

Claire got up and headed over by him. She held her arms out and wrapped them around Leon. He returned the favor and rested his chin on top of her head. Claire laid her head against Leon, staying there for a brief moment. She always made it a point to say goodbye as if it were the last time. Considering, you never knew what could happen out there. Especially given their situation.

"Don't die out there." She said,

"I'll come home, don't you worry, red."

They came together and shared another kiss. One that would say goodbye, I miss you, and I love you all in one simple gesture. They held it for just a moment before parting. Even there, their hands lingered for just a moment before they parted. Leon sent a smile Claire's way as he headed down the stairs. Claire waved and smiled right back at him as he left. Then, just like that he was out the door.

Per usual, he got in the pickup and he set off for work. He went in and started his day as usual. He did the tasks he was assigned and the day went on as usual. Nothing too out of the ordinary happened throughout the beginning of the work day. Though, towards the middle of his shift. He was asked to come forward. Where he was met with a group of government agents.

"Are you Leon S Kennedy?" The main one asked.

"Yes, that's me. What's going on here?" He asked.

"We're going to need you to come with us. We'd like to chat with you."

"Alright... well. Let's head out then."

And so that would happen. They took him in a car with tinted windows. Then, they set off down the road. Leon had absolutely zero clue where they were going, but he kept his hands folded in his lap. He glanced between everyone in the car. There was no one of which he recognized. Why would they be taking him away? When would he be home? Maybe he should have called Claire before he left with them...

Eventually they arrived at a small facility out on a closed off section of land. The officials opened the car door and let Leon out. He was still dressed in his police officer uniform. They guided him into the facility, taking him to a room where they each took a seat. Leon kept his hands in his lap, anxiously awaiting for what they had to say. Could it be about Umbrella? Had he done something else incorrect? What was going to happen?

"From the information we've gathered. You were a rookie cop during Raccoon City?" One of them asked the question.

Leon raised an eyebrow just slightly. "That's correct."

"You're telling us you survived an entire outbreak as only your first day on the job?"

"Correct."

"Now, in case you didn't know. That's impressive. We've realized not just any person could do that. Most if not all of the other police officers on the Raccoon City force were exterminated by the undead. Even some of the finest S.T.A.R.S members were killed on the scene. Yet, you're the one who survived." The agent laid his hand on the table in front of Kennedy, sliding a paper towards him.

Leon watched them in hesitance, looking down at the paper that was stamped with a seal. Carefully, he opened it. Reading it over. It was a paper that was offering for him to become a secret agent for the government. It listed their reasoning as for why he was fit to become an agent. Then, it listed all of the requirements he would have to make before he could become a full fledged agent.

"We want you on our team, Kennedy. What do you say?"

He looked over the requirements. It listed that he would have to do a lot of traveling when it came to his job. Whether this be when he's full fledged for missions or they were taking him to facilities for training. He wasn't sure how this would go down. He couldn't imagine leaving Claire and Sherry's sides for such a long period of time. How would Claire even react to this information he was receiving?

"What about my family back home? I couldn't leave them behind for this." He began to slide the paper back, but the agent in front of him stopped him.

"It says here you own land in QuarryBend. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"If you're so desperate to stay with your family. We can set up a training district there. We can send you a personal trainer three times a week for training sessions. That will be our compromise." The agent spoke.

Leon had to think for a moment. He wasn't sure how this would go down with Claire and Sherry. Claire wasn't very fond of the government or the people that worked for it. She never trusted big corporations since she figured out about Umbrella. After a moment of thinking, he decided he would have to talk to Claire first. He looked up towards the agent and took the paper.

"I need to talk to Claire before I decide on anything."

"As you wish."